Hey Guys! I have here a proposed future roadmap for Linux Mint. Tell me if you think it is a good or bad one, or just whatever you think! (I am currently running Linux Mint 14 KDE x64 Edition btw)

1. Starting with Linux Mint 17 (I think that's the correct one, the next LTS?) Linux Mint should drop MATE as one of their main desktops. Lets face it; MATE is a dead technology. Like Windows XP, it is dying a slow and painful death. If it is just gnome 2 with a different name, then it is outdated technology. That's why I am saying to drop support for it for the next LTS. Linux Mint can still offer MATE as a DE, just not their main one. Users should use Gnome 3, Unity, Cinnamon, KDE, or Xfce.

2. Linux Mint should focus more on their KDE release. I think that Linux Mint should replace MATE with KDE as one of their main DE's. KDE is an absolutely wonderful DE that I think doesn't get enough love, so if Mint put a little more focus on their KDE release and made it nice and polished, it would be an even greater distro.

3. Kubuntu and Mint KDE are founded by the same company. Blue Systems. I say that the Kubuntu and Mint KDE team should join forces and produce the best Debian based KDE distro that is just as polished as Novell's openSUSE.

I am sure that a lot of you are going to hate the next comment, but I make the next proposed change out of principal, not because I like it.

4. Make Linux Mint conform to the Free Software Foundations guidelines for a FREE operating system. Remove any and all propriety drivers and software. I like the way openSUSE does it.LInux Mint should remove any and all propriety software, and can give a link or provide a download for all the codecs and stuff but make it very clear what the user is doing.

Another thing along the same lines is switching from linuxmint.com, to linuxmint.org. Now this is a really big deal, and I really wouldn't mention this just out of the blue, but it used to be that businesses used .com, while non-profit foundations used .org. While this really isn't true anymore, it just speaks a little bit on principal and philosophy.

Perhaps look a bit more into what the MATE developers are doing. They are fixing bugs, adding new features, and planning ahead for MATE. Both MATE and Xfce are based on Gtk2 (the old toolkit) and working to transition to Gtk3 (the new toolkit, as used also by Gnome 3 and Cinnamon). At least I think Xfce is still working on that. So I'm a bit confused as to why Xfce is okay, but MATE isn't? These are very similar projects.

Anyway, MATE is the second most popular desktop environment with Linux Mint users (viewtopic.php?f=143&t=100787). MATE is important to Linux Mint, and that is unlikely to change as long as the desktop environment is popular with so large a share of Linux Mint's users. But who knows how desktop environment popularity will have shifted by the time of the next LTS. We might end up with Linux Mint 17 Enlightenment and Linux Mint 17 Razor-Qt

Linux Mint has four main editions, Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce and KDE. The maintainers and testers work diligently on all these main editions. Cinnamon of course gets more attention from the developers, as it is a Linux Mint project. That doesn't interfere with the work the maintainers and testers are doing though. If you have specific ideas for what could be improved on the KDE edition, you are welcome to share those ideas on the Community site's ideas pool or here on the forums in the suggestions & new ideas forum.

Ham Radio wrote:3. Kubuntu and Mint KDE are founded by the same company.

I think you mean sponsored. Both projects were founded before Blue Systems graciously started sponsoring them.

As for adopting the FSF guidelines, that may be a lofty goal but Linux Mint is a pragmatic project and I don't think this will be implemented. Linux Mint strongly prefers to offer software that aligns with the FSF definition of free software, as for example all the software developed by the Linux Mint project is licensed under the GPL. But if no alternatives are available but proprietary ones then Linux Mint has no objection to that. Being able to use websites that require proprietary browser plug-ins; being able to use your wireless card and your graphics card, even though they need proprietary drivers; being able to interact with friends and family using other operating systems (like having Skype in the repository); this is part of what makes Linux Mint.

I think I'm really happy you're not in the board. If I'm thinking the way you think, we should drop KDE because, I don't like it and I think Cinnamon is better and...

All users have ideas... But at the end of the day Clem is the guy in charge and he knows what he is doing.

Here is one point more for you to consider: Maybe we should drop the main edition (based on Ubuntu) or just keep the LTS version (one every 3 years) and the team should focus on LMDE (Cinnamon, MATE, XFCE & KDE versions).

You see every user has ideas. Is this one a good one or a bad one? I don't know...

killer de bug wrote:I think I'm really happy you're not in the board. If I'm thinking the way you think, we should drop KDE because, I don't like it and I think Cinnamon is better and...

All users have ideas... But at the end of the day Clem is the guy in charge and he knows what he is doing.

Here is one point more for you to consider: Maybe we should drop the main edition (based on Ubuntu) or just keep the LTS version (one every 3 years) and the team should focus on LMDE (Cinnamon, MATE, XFCE & KDE versions).

You see every user has ideas. Is this one a good one or a bad one? I don't know...

Although I'm still running LM Nadia (Cinnamon and Xfce), I'm leaning very strongly toward non-Ubuntu-based distros and think that focusing on LMDE versions is worth considering in the near future.

Ham Radio wrote:4. Make Linux Mint conform to the Free Software Foundations guidelines for a FREE operating system. Remove any and all propriety drivers and software. I like the way openSUSE does it.LInux Mint should remove any and all propriety software, and can give a link or provide a download for all the codecs and stuff but make it very clear what the user is doing.

Well those are my ideas. What do you think?

That one's just not thought through. From day 1 Mint has aimed to provide a full out-of-the-box experience, that's pretty much the only thing under the hood that separated early version of Mint from Ubuntu - and still today, if you want to provide that, there's just no way around having restricted packages installed and enabled by default. If you want a FOSS OS, get one of those that are. It makes no sense wishing for Mint to be one as long as it conflicts with the user friendly out-of-the-box experience.

Thank you for this thread. That’s all I can say. You most definitely have made this forum into something special. You clearly know what you are doing, you’ve covered so many bases. Thanks!

Ham Radio wrote:4. Make Linux Mint conform to the Free Software Foundations guidelines for a FREE operating system. Remove any and all propriety drivers and software. I like the way openSUSE does it.LInux Mint should remove any and all propriety software, and can give a link or provide a download for all the codecs and stuff but make it very clear what the user is doing.

Well those are my ideas. What do you think?

That one's just not thought through. From day 1 Mint has aimed to provide a full out-of-the-box experience, that's pretty much the only thing under the hood that separated early version of Mint from Ubuntu - and still today, if you want to provide that, there's just no way around having restricted packages installed and enabled by default. If you want a FOSS OS, get one of those that are. It makes no sense wishing for Mint to be one as long as it conflicts with the user friendly out-of-the-box experience.

I have to agree that Mint, regardless the flavor, is one of most user friendly and works-out-of-the box experiences I've has as a perpetual noob, but Manjaro (still very much a work in progress) and CrunchBang also do a fine job out-of-the-box.